Immortality

An article on my favorite website makes very valid points about how much immortality would suck...eventually. Here's the short list:

5) Evolution would turn you into a freak
4) No one could find out or you'd likely be locked up as a case study
3) Your MIND is still aging
2) Time speeds up until you're insane
1) You'll Eventually Get Trapped Somewhere (Forever)

While these things are largely unavoidable because, well, when you live forever, nothing is really avoidable, I think there are ways to make the best of the situation. While I was walking around the server cage today, I think I came up with a way to get the most out of immortality: NASA.

Don't ask me what the hell I was doing that would cause me to be thinking about immortality while I was checking for server problems because I couldn't tell you anyway.

But really, think about it. You spend your time studying with NASA - learning physics, biology, engineering and pretty much every other god damn thing. You'd have to have a decent mental capacity, but whatever you lack in that department is helped by the fact that you have NOTHING BUT TIME. So after you are the smartest god damn person at NASA, knowing a combination of everyone's jobs, you set off for space. Deep space. After all the time it took you to learn everything, technology would have advanced greatly and also, you know everything about rocket science so you probably have come up with some sweet ideas on your own to solve that "we don't have enough fuel on Earth to pack into a bloody space ship so it can reach deep space" thing. Hell, you can probably take raw materials and build a nuclear reactor. And while you're traveling up, out and away, you can string along some communications equipment so you can still talk to Earth. Also so you don't miss Big Brother 487.

So let's take this one by one:

5) You're in deep space...you're already a freak. Anything you run into is going to think you're a freak. But best of all, it's a fucking freak, too. Yeah, Earthlings are evolving and if you ever do return home it's entirely possible the human race will be different but you'll be RETRO and retro is always in style.

4) Well, you'd have to tell NASA but I'm sure they would be able to hide your secret. Every 40yrs they throw you a retirement party and hire a "new" guy which is you with a spiffy new identity. Or they just never put you on the roster to begin with.

3) This is a bummer but since you'll be focused on your task at hand, you should be able to stave off the ill effects of having 150yrs of memories and counting.

2) This will actually work in your favor in a vast, empty and possibly desolate space since everything is going to look the same and you're not going to be able to see a sunrise/sunset.

1) This is the ultimate bummer but hopefully you'll only be trapped in your spacecraft. Hell, technically if you're immortal, you shouldn't NEED a spacecraft...but without one you would need a REALLY BIG fannypack to carry all your supplies in. Which leads me to this point...

...Space could possibly be the only solution to immortality. It all depends on how you define "immortality". In some iterations the person's body is immune to damage - walking through flames unscathed. In others their body can be killed but it remains animated. But what if you have NO OXYGEN? All the scenarios of immortality that have been portrayed in cinema or in books, to my knowledge, have only addressed immortality in humans ON EARTH. Or on another planet or place made for human life. Our bodies need oxygen...but yet we need to eat to metabolize and many immortal beings didn't need to eat. *shrug* We're going to have to get some solid rules on this.

Regardless of whether the vacuum of space can be the final solution to immortality or not, if you're immortal, I think you should really take one for the team and launch out there. We'll give you a ship, tons of radio equipment and HOPE. Fly, my immortal friend. Fly.